Tag: Grouplove

On September 6 & 7 the LouFest Music Festival will return to the beautiful Forest Park in St. Louis for a fifth straight year. LouFest is growing yet again, with a rumored FOURTH stage now being added after a third being brought into the mix last year. It was estimated that the 2013 version brought in more than 15,000 people each day, more than double the previous year. The last five years have provided concert goers with a very eclectic mix of artists from all genres and stages of their careers. Another great aspect of LouFest is that they be sure to throw a few local talents such as Sleepy Kitty, Troubadour Dali and Tef Poe on the bill as well.

Previous artists to grace the LouFest stage have included The Flaming Lips, Wilco, Girl Talk (above), The Killers, She & Him, Jim James, TV on the Radio, The National, Trampled by Turtles, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr. and even a Jeff Tweedy solo set. The Roots were scheduled in 2011 but sadly had to cancel at the last minute. LouFest has certainly grown to become something very special for the city of Saint Louis.

Unfortunately for LouFest, their game to slowly reveal the first nine bands by slowly releasing clues had a slight flaw that led to a leak of those nine bands in just a few hours after announcing the game. So what we already found out last week is that alt-rockers Cake will be one of the top bands on the bill… which excites the hell out of me! The other eight leaked bands are Grouplove, Portugal the Man, Blackberry Smoke, San Fermin, Pretty Little Empire, Moon Taxi, Washed Out and funksters Lettuce, who I am also incredibly excited to see.

The rest of the lineup was just released… check it out below. Be sure to check back soon for a full preview of the entire lineup!

For the third year in a row, Firefly Music Festival in Delaware is delivering another stellar lineup. Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters and Outkast lead the big names while Cage the Elephant, Weezer, Childish Gambino, Jack Johnson, Sleigh Bells,Young The Giant, Girl Talk, Chance The Rapper, Local Natives, Portugal. The Man, The Lumineers, Kaiser Chiefs, Grouplove and Pretty Lights round out the list of acts you may have heard of off the top of our heads looking at the list of over 100 acts.

Firefly throws a curve ball in it’s forth year by adding a fourth-day to it. The new format leaves our Homer Simpson four day weekend taking place June 19th – 22nd at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Tickets will be available through the festival’s website.

Below, check out the festival lineup unveiling video, because that seems to be the new way to announce festivals not named Coachella.

The Lineup for the Hangout Music Festival (taking place on beaches in Alabama May 17th through 19th) has been revealed. Besides Kings Of Leon, things are shaping up to be a very serviceable festival experience. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Phish Spin-Off Trey Anastasio Band, and The Breeders top this list of notables while The Shins, Kendrick Lamar, Passion Pit, The Black Crowes, Bassnectar, Jim James, Slightly Stoopid, The Roots, Bloc Party, Ellie Goulding, Public Enemy, Dirty Projectors, Best Coast, moe., Gov’t Mule and Grouplove among others to join the party.

Also, just like Governors Ball did with us a few weeks ago it looks like we have ourselves “Yet to be announced” headliner, as Tom Petty and Kings Of Leon are only two of the three. Will it be “Guns N’ Roses”? Will it be Skrillex? What about America’s Favorite band Pearl Jam? How about this: Take a guess in the comments section. That’s right, we may not have fancy video equipment but we still would love to hear your guesses as to who the 3rd headliner is going to be. When announced if you guessed right we’ll send you an official tee shirt courtesy of Concert Confessions. Hey, it’s better than a hug right? Check out the full list of acts below, in alphabetical order. Head over to the Festival’s Official Website For More Information.

Not sure if we mentioned it before, but tis the season to announce festival lineups. This time lets head to the land of the grapevine that is Napa Valley for what is dubbed Bottle Rock Festival. Cork-Fest must not have had as much of a ring to it as I thought it did. This one is interesting because, well, one might ask why the Kings Of Leon would be the lead headliner along with The Black Keys and Furthur. Furthur? Come on man. I like the Grateful Dead as much as the next guy but The Flaming Lips, Jane’s Addiction and Primus are sitting on this same list of acts playing. Bad Religion could close this thing out playing songs only off True North.

It all goes down May 9th through 12th. If you’re having trouble reading the text in the above poster never fear, some loser went through the trouble of actually typing out every single band listed there-and that lays below. As usual, it’s always best to head over to the festival’s official website if you feel like partying with the Zac Brown Band,- do that by clicking here.

We love us some GROUPLOVE. We love how often GROUPLOVE are on late night TV. Having already rocked the likes of Kimmel and Leno, the up and coming indie rockers headed over to the Warner Bros. lot in beautiful Burbank to rock it hard for Conan O’Brien. Enjoy Itchin’ On A Photograph (and a ton of cardboard cutouts) down below.

Do I have to capitalize GROUPLOVE, or is it cool to just go with Grouplove for the sake of looking professional? Either way you spell it, the band is hitting the road in September touring the US. But before they do that, the band will hit YouTube for a “YouTube Presents” live performance type thing and Q&A session on July 30th. You can stream it at www.youtube.com/presents beginning at 1pm PT. If you would rather see the band live, then the GROUPLOVE tour dates are below.

This is pretty bad ass. By now, you know we dig GROUPLOVE (in more ways than you know). We also had a blast earlier this year giving away tickets to see Andrew W.K. live in Hollywood. So when we discovered that GROUPLOVE covered Party Hard by Andrew W.K. for A.V. Club we just had to share it here with you. We hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

Greetings from the left coast. Reverend Justito here sitting on the bed watching my second favorite baseball team kick the crap out of my all-time favorite baseball team. I can’t hear the Angels play by play team discuss the ass kicking the boys in red are putting upon my Giants because I am listening to GROUPLOVE live on Leno. I can’t lie, I still have not made my mind up on this band despite dropping $6.99 on the compact disc at Target a few weeks back. Sure, I couldn’t hear them at Outside Lands and yeah they lost a battle to the elements at Coachella but gosh darn I love the low end in the ‘Tongue Tied’ jam. So with love and praise going to The Audio Perv I am enjoying this jam hours before it airs in my time zone. We hope you enjoy it as well.

Oh and GROUPLOVE, as the dude who hit you up on social media today in regards to getting some Grill ‘Em All action right across the street from the NBC Studios, I forgive you for ignoring my request for lunch. I imagine it would be a challenge to perform after taking down a Behemoth.

You remember a few months ago when we shared with you details of the 2012 KROQ Weenie Roast Y Fiesta? With the show sold out for weeks chances are you won’t be getting into the venue formerly known as Irvine Meadows this weekend. Thankfully the fine folks over at KROQ have not only announced the set times for the show, they are going to webcast the entire thing. To watch this Saturday’s webcast, head over to KROQ.com on Saturday. To check out the set times, look down below. To read our review of the 2010 KROQ Weenie Roast, click here.

Bud Lite Stage Dos:

Walk the Moon 2:30 PM

Of Monsters and Men 3:00 PM

Grouplove 3:30 PM

AWOLNATION 4:00 PM

Main Stage:

Garbage 4:50 PM

The Dirty Heads 5:25 PM

Angels & Airwaves 6:00 PM

Pennywise 6:35 PM

Silversun Pickups 7:15 PM

The Offspring 7:55 PM

Incubus 8:45 PM

Coldplay 9:35 PM

Of course make sure to check out KROQ.com for all the up to the minute details on this annual event.

There was a reason I have always avoided Coachella and that reason is the sun. Fact is my white ass doesn’t do so well out in the middle of the desert. So it is fitting that my first trip to Coachella felt more like my hometown of San Francisco versus the Palm Desert. Strong winds, sporadic showers and thick fog were a downer for everyone but me. But enough about the weather, let’s discuss the first Friday of Coachella 2012.

James

I have a pal, his name is James and the album title Get Laid by James has always made us laugh. So to pop my Coachella cherry I decided to start off with this long running Manchester band’s main stage set. I honestly couldn’t name a single song they played, I didn’t get to hear the song Laid, but I did run into my pal Brian so that was pretty sweet.

Gary Clark Jr.

I ran across the Polo Fields from the main stage to the Gobi Tent for the first act I was truly excited to see. With the wind blowing hard through the tent, Gary Clark Jr. hit the stage with a fantastic set of rock/blues revival. Song like “When The Trains Pull In” and “Don’t Owe You A Thang” felt more like Bonnaroo as the crowd danced under the tent. I ended up sneaking off right after he teased some “Third Stone From The Sun” action as I decided to check in on another hippie heavy act.

GROUPLOVE

As I have shared in the past, I have been trying to see Grouplove since last summer. I still need to see Grouplove. With hurricane strength winds and extremely douchie fans assembled under the Mojave Tent I only lasted two songs. Sadly the band sounded terrible and I am not sure if it was the wind, the fact they are blowing up before they have the time to grow as a live act or a combo of both. I am sure Hannah Hooper is a lovely gal but someone should mention to her that when winds are whipping she may want to actually sing into the mic when she dances around instead of projecting from eight feet away. I split after “Itchin on a Photograph” with the thoughts in my mind that perhaps the third time is the charm.

Death Grips

In my pre-Coachella YouTube session, Death Grips caught me off guard. I have a thing for noisy bands and I am always down to check out any act who call Northern California home. With their road crew rocking San Francisco Giants hats, the band hit the stage to a very small crowd. I lasted about ½ the set and I have very mixed emotions on the band. Unaware of how long they have been performing live, you can tell the group needs some work on their stage presence, especially lead vocalist MC Ride. What I do like about this group is they are a new wave of acts that are the evolution of heavy music. I like the combo of aggressive beats matched with a hip hop meets DC hardcore vocal flair. It’s unique it’s refreshing and God damn did it make me feel old.

Girls

If you have followed this site for a while you know I love Girls. I showed up about ½ way into their Outdoor Stage set and was delighted to see bassist Chet White rocking an old school San Francisco 49ers jacket. The part of the set I saw was heavy on last year’s outstanding release Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Highlights included Saying I Love You, Alex and the set closing Vomit. Towards the end as the song gets heavy and lead singer Christopher Owens is singing “looking for love” with the help of backup singers, the rain began to fall heavily upon the crowd. It was as if it was in synch with the San Francisco based group and the first truly magical Coachella moment I was lucky enough to experience.

Artic Monkeys

After catching up with some pals, I caught my third Arctic Monkeys show from the beer tent. Shockingly, while I was not exactly watching them it was the best I have heard this band play. Highlights included “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” and the track recorded with Mr. Josh Homme just a few miles away “Crying Lightning.” The perfect dinner band, even if dinner is two quickly pounded cups of Heineken.

Madness

Hey look it’s Madness. Cross them off the list of bands I have never seen.

Pulp

As I mentioned sarcastically in my Coachella preview, I know “Common People” and that’s about it. Yet despite not knowing much about the band they were the highlight of day one. The Jarvis Cocker lead act sounded incredible and he is a helluva front man. I love his rambling banter on everything from learning how to have sex to the admission that Coachella wanted them last year and it simply didn’t happen. Oh and Cocker hit me with a grape before performing “Babies” that was pretty awesome. I went to see Pulp knowing they don’t make it across the pond to the states very often, and I left their set as a fan. Oh and just to make assholes like me happy, you know they closed with “Common People” and it was all I had dreamed of and more.

The Black Keys

I knew this band was ready for headline status when I tried to catch them at Outside Lands and was at least two football fields back. Thankfully I was much closer on this evening and enjoyed most of the Akron duos set. Opening up with the 1-2 punch of “Howlin’ For You” and “Next Girl” the massive crowd erupted for the main stage headliners. Some of the background videos seemed to be glitching but no one really cared as the duo were bringing it hard. Other highlights included the duo ditching their back up band to go at it alone on older songs like “I’ll Be Your Man” and “Your Touch.” One of my favorites from their stellar new record El Camino, “Little Black Submarines” was the perfect way to close out my first proper show by The Black Keys in order to get a quick beer and a slice of pizza before ending my night at the Outiside Stage.

Explosions In The Sky

Granted most of the set was watched from the beer garden as I ate the earlier mention pizza and drank the earlier mentioned beer but I really liked what I heard from this Texas based post rock instrumental act. The music was beautiful and with no lyrics found a way to bring out emotions I wasn’t expecting to feel. By the time I finally got to the field, they were unfortunately just wrapping up their set. There is going to have to be a next time for these guys.

Refused

I never thought I would see these fine Swedes live. But there it was just past 11pm with the rain coming down rather hard. Opening with The Shape of Punk To Come my arms were forming goose bumps while the younger generation were forming circle pits. The band sounded amazing as if they had not been broken up for the past decade plus. In between rants of how the band has moved on from trying to overthrow our government, the band was crushing us with classics including “The Refused Party Program,” “Rather Be Dead” and “Summerholidays vs. Punkroutine.” What I thought was most interesting was how the band discussed their reunion. They explained how it would be wrong of them not to do it since so many fans wanted it. The band was humble (their last US gig was in a basement to 40 people) and appreciate of the fan as they rewarded the crowd to a balls to the wall set closing “New Noise.” As I sit here today, I still don’t believe it happened. Refused are alive and well and I saw it with my own two eyes.

In closing day one of Coachella was a blast. I am out in about 90 minutes for round two with the likes of Kasabian, Grace Potter and those pussy farting wastes of talent known as Radiohead.

The Top 12 Must See Acts of Coachella 2012 According To Our Shit Talking Loud Mouth Founder Reverend Justito

My only trek to Indio for three days of music in the desert was nearly 2 ½ years ago. It featured one band performing 8 sets for 45,000 devoted fans. Truth be told, I am a bit scared of my first Coachella experience. I am not really the violent type, but the right mix of mind altering substances as well as the heat and general stupidity of 89,989 fucktards rocking fedoras may just send me into a murderous rampage. I suppose it’s a good thing that the fine folks at Goldenvoice don’t allow weapons onto the lush green lawn known as the Empire Polo Fields. But enough with the hate, weekend one of Coachella is just days away and I want to share with you the top 12 artists I am looking to forward to enjoying in the middle of the fucking desert.

I tried to catch these lovable Silver Lake by way of the UK and Brooklyn yet formed in Greece hippiesters at the 2011 Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco. Booked on the festivals smallest stage yet performing to a massive crowd my pals and I were so far back that we had no choice but to enjoy some whiskey and pretend that we could hear what was going on. With tours of a land down under and a few national TV appearances under their belt since Outside Lands, hopefully I can get a bit closer to the group this time around. If not, at least I will spend Weekend 2 of Coachella at my Best Friend’s House.

11) The Black Lips:

You don’t go see The Black Lips for the music (well maybe you do) you go see these Atlanta based Flower Punkers to watch them urinate on stage, puke on stage, chug beers on stage and spit snot rockets into the air only to catch it in their mouths and swallow it down. Hopefully around the time they play their guitars with their penises, I am vomiting all over those annoying racist white girls who dress like Native American Princesses. Don’t worry honey, I drink microbrew your moccasins will be just fine it’s the headdress that you need to worry about.

10) St. Vincent:

While I would prefer more METAL at Coachella, one thing that the festival is stacked with is great female talent. From Feist to that Florence chick who sounds like a dying pigeon when she sings this may be the best collection of ass kicking females in one place since Lilith Fair 1998. I was shocked at how impressed I was with St. Vincent when I caught her in Hollywood last fall. While I am not sure if her show will translate from a small dark theatre to a sun baked polo field if nothing conflicts I look forward to finding out. Oh and she may be the one individual at Coachella whose skin is more fair than mine. Perhaps we can share sun block after she gives me tips on how to kick ass on guitar as hard as she does.

9) The Buzzcocks:

For me classic punk bands are like Pokemon, I have to catch them all. With the likes of Angry Samoans, FEAR and Youth Brigade checked off the list, Coachella 2012 is my chance to catch the pride and joy of Bolton England. Here is hoping that “Orgasm Addict” and “Something’s Gone Wrong Again” make it onto the setlist.

8 ) Grace Potter and the Nocturnals:

Unknown to her, Grace Potter is my future ex-wife. Long before she was rocking VH1 award shows wearing fancy clothes, this Vermont native was winning me over with her hippielicious 70’s arena rock. Oh and the best thing about seeing Miss Potter and crew at a festival is the fact I can still enjoy her without violating that nasty court order saying I must stay 250 feet away at all times.

7) Childish Gambino:

If Foxy Shazam is White Music For Black People, does that make Childish Gambino Black Music for White People? Granted I don’t know much about hip hop, everything I have heard by this dude is great. It’s like Drake, but not a total fucking joke. Plus we both drink whiskey till we are grounded, here is to passing out in the tent during his set. That is of course when I am not puking on Asian girls from UCLA?

6) Pulp:

As an American, my vote is that you play “Common People” and then get the fuck off the stage so The Black Keys can rock. Oh and have a meltdown, because I have always wanted to see a Brit-Pop band have a breakdown on stage. I kid of course, granted I don’t really know much about Pulp, I have a thing for bands from the UK who don’t get the respect they deserve on this continent. So knowing they don’t come over here often, Pulp you best amaze the fuck out of me.

5) Girls:

I get the feeling Girls will make a lot of new fans at Coachella this year. Their performance at the Music Box last December was their biggest US headline gig to date and they blew the roof off the fucking place. Their 2011 release Father, Son, Holy Ghost made it onto numerous top ten lists for good reason. From lush ballads like “Love Like A River” to Sabbath inspired rockers like “Vomit” and “Die” this band is truly something special and not to be missed.

4) Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds:

While I fully expect to see a water-downed version of Gallagher’s stunning November 2012 appearance on the campus of UCLA, that will still be far superior to the performance of Saturday headliners Radiohead. Having hit arena headliner status across the pond in Europe, I have no doubt that Gallagher’s well crafted songs will captivate the masses as the sun sets in the west. Likewise, ladies if you are crushed over his lack of “Wonderwall”, you can cry on my shoulder while Radiohead blow pussy farts across the Polo Fields.

3) Refused:

Dead my ass! Refused are back and they are going to kick the living crap out of the hipster nation. Granted I get the vibe they would be better in a small club instead of on a massive stage, the fact is that in 2012 Refused are alive and I will get to see them with my own two eyes. I never thought I would have a chance, but Lord knows I plan to make the most of this one.

2) At The Drive-In:

You can pretty much take the above statement on Refused and put it here. The only difference is that I was going to see At The Drive-In live and then they went and broke up. I kid you not, when those loveable fucks over at Antiquiet broke the news that these mad men from El Paso were reforming I knew I had to finally make the trek to Coachella. Fingers crossed no one moshes thus ending the performance before it even begins.

1) Kasabian:

CAN YOU FEEL IT COMING? Anyone who knows me already knew who the number one band was going to be. It has been 5 long years since Kasabian blessed North American with their presence. Super stars in Europe, Asia and Australia, there are many theories as to why this band has not taken off in America, but who cares. The fact is Kasabian is here in America right now and you are a damn fool if you miss their Saturday performance. Massive anthems from real rock and roll stars, Kasabian is the one act you can’t miss at Coachella 2012. See you in the fucking pit.

You’ve read about the KROQ Weenie Roasthere at Concert Confessions in past years, Known for groundbreaking lineups, were not 100% sure if this line up is going to blow anyone’s mind as hard as past years, but for your hard earned dollar you get a day in the sun with the likes of Coldplay, Incubus and The Offspring. Oh and for those of you who like Pennywise, there’s always that. With the event celebrating it’s 20th Anniversary, we can only hope KROQ has some surprises up their sleeves. Perhaps unannounced performances from some of the bands that played the first Weenie Roast? Our vote is for Terrence Trent D’Arby.

Going down on Cinco De Mayo at the Verizon Wireless Ampitheater in Irvine, CA.

Tickets go on sale to KROQ Street Team members starting April 5th at noon via Live Nation/Ticketmaster. Tickets for the 2012 KROQ Weenie Roast Y Fiesta are sold out. Tickets up front will set you back $85.00 while the lawn at the very back of the corporate sponsored music venue will cost you $45.00. A complete lineup for the 2012 Weenie Roast Y Fiesta is down below. For up to the minute information including, please check out the KROQ website by clicking here. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to The Surfrider Foundation and Heal The Bay.

Editors Note: This is The 2012 Lineup. For the 2013 Lineup, Click Here

Firefly Music Festival To Be Held In Delaware

Delaware, welcome to the world of States that have sweet Music Festivals.

The news broke last night, that the three day ’Firefly Music Festival’, will be headlined by The Killers, The Black Keys and Jack White . Solid, right? I mean, sure The Killers aren’t in the stratosphere of musical relevance circa 2012 as the The Black Keys and Jack White are; but hey, they could have went with the Beach Boys, so we’ll chalk up those headliners as a win.

The ’2nd tier’ if you will, of headliners consists of The Flaming Lips (what AREN’T the Flaming Lips doing these days?), Death Cab For Cutie, John Legend, Girl Talk and Passion Pit(cancelled as a result of mental health issues).Modest Mouse, a late edition to the festivities, announced on June 25th they’d be in Dover as well that weekend.

Dubbed the “East Coast’s Premier Music Experience”, will kick off July 20th at Woodlands of Dover International Speedway in Delaware and end July 22nd with 3 day passes going for a modest $178 (as of 6/28, 3-Day passes have been sold out), at the Festival’s official website. The rest of the listed acts are below.

Update 05/08/12 – The Firefly Website now shows an image similar to the gang Hangman. While they promise a full lineup tomorrow 05/09/12 we have done some detective work and believe this festival is adding the following artists.

As always the lineup for the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester Tennessee is nothing short of impressive. Headlined by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead and Phish, the festival is set to take place June 7th-10th, 2012. Other highlights on the bill include Alice Cooper, St. Vincent and a reunited Ben Folds Five.

With the first two price levels already sold out, you best get your tickets soon as this annual event almost always sells out. If you have a little bit of extra cash after buying your ticket, perhaps you can send some to our youngest Concert Confessions family member Jakob who is trying to make it to his first Bonaroo. Click here to help him out.

For more information on everything Bonnaroo, please check out the official site by clicking here. Check out some past footage of Bonnaroo from our pal BeeZnutZbelow.

As of 03/12/2012 Bands added to the Festival’s lineup include: Danzig Legacy, Puscifer, Santigold, The Temper Trap, fun., and The Cave Singers

Sasquatchis one of Washington’s most widely regarded music festivals. Held annually at the beautiful Gorge Amphitheater, Sasquatch is known for hosting big name acts like Jane’s Addiction, Kings of Leon, Bjork, and Flaming Lips. Well this year, they’ve got a treat for you.

BEST OF THE BEST: Well it appears that Jack White will be making his solo US debut here at Sasquatch a month after the release of his debut solo album. That is certainly something to watch for.

With Beck, you should always expect the unexpected, so whatever he does will most likely be some sort of garage-punk/funky-pop weirdness explosion.

The self-described “greatest band in the world” Tenacious D will be returning to the stage after five long years, to coincide with the release of their new album.

Girl Talk is a mashup artist that can combine everything from War Pigs, to Teach Me How to Dougie, to 99 Problems, all without being sued.

Portlandia, a show led by Wild Flag’s Carrie Brownstein (who will also play the festival with that group) and SNL’s Fred Armisen. It’s an amazingly funny and amazingly bizarre sketch comedy show that sold out crowds across the US when they brought it to the stage. Definitely something to see if you watch the show.

If you’re looking to relax after a long day’s festival, Explosions in the Sky should help (not Bon Iver). This post-rock emotional explosion of instrumental beauty is like a symphony of guitars that will put you to sleep in the best sense of the word.

Childish Gambino, or as Community fans know him Donald Glover, is a brilliant lyricist and deliverer of rap music. He’s also wicked funny. So whether he does something comedic or something serious, it should be brilliant.

Blitzen Trapper are Americana-folk at its best. With Sub Pop signing more folk bands like Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper hopped on the first train out of Portland to play magnificent folksy music. It’ll be like a portal to another world, a world where all you should care about is not getting anyone’s vomit on your shoes.

We here at Concert Confessions have been trying to see Grouplove for a while. As you may recall, our founder Reverend Justito attempted to catch the band on the Pan Handle stage at the 2011 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. However with a massive crowd assembled at the solar powered stage, he couldn’t even get close enough to hear the band let alone see them. Then our youngest and quite possibly brightest contributor Jakob Rosscaught them in Seattle last month. While he was able to hear them, sitting at the very top of Key Arena, he didn’t really see them either. Thankfully the group performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week where we were able to catch them in beautiful 720p HD goodness. You can watch the band perform both “Tongue Tied” and “Colors” below. Oh and if all goes well, perhaps we will get to see and hear them in person later this year when Rev makes a trip out to the desert for the 2012 Coachella Music and Arts Festival.

Kasabian, Refused, At The Drive-In and Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg – oh my. The 2012 Coachella lineup is out and it’s epic like elephant titties. Tickets go on sale Friday January 13th 2012 at 10 am PST via coachella.comWe hope to see you in the desert in April.

Update 01/13/12 1:00 PM PST

Both weekends of Coachella 2012 sold out in less than three hours. Our man Reverend Justitohas purchased tickets for the first weekend. If you are heading out to Indio, leave us a comment. Maybe he will buy you a beer.

I’ve been to a ton of concerts this year, thanks in part to my awesome Dad for putting up with my concert-going needs. Well out of the many I’ve been to this year, here are my top 10. I am not doing top 10 live bands, but the top 10 shows. So here we go.

10. Social Distortion 02/12/11 – Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA

Although I didn’t write a review of this show (I hadn’t discovered CC yet), this is the show that kicked off my 2011 concert season. Punk legends Social Distortion playing three sold out nights in a row in Seattle is just an outstanding feat. They played a great setlist and they were loud and crazy. Mike Ness and the boys may be kinda old, but they still put out great music and put on great shows (Photo from 10/29/11).

Two days before seeing Soundgarden at the Gorge, I was seeing Hassidic reggae/rapper Matisyahu at the Portland Zoo. Matisyahu put on an energetic, albeit short, concert to a mostly Jewish crowd (I think there was a Hebrew school field trip there). There was certainly more weed than I expected, but it was a cool show with great vibes. Oh and being Jewish makes it more of a rite of passage than a concert.

I also had the pleasure of not only seeing but also being the youngest person seeing 90s post-grunge superstars Bush. After a decade-long breakup, the British band got back together for a tour that hit theaters and small clubs. Seeing them at the brand new venue The Neptune Theater just made it that much cooler, and Bush put on a brilliant show that rocked very hard. Gavin Rossdale sings better than I’ve ever heard him before.

Bumbershoot is an annual music/arts festival that takes place at the Seattle Center. While 2010’s festival sported big name acts like Weezer, Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Meat Puppets, Hole, and Rise Against, this year’s festival was headlined by Wiz Khalifa, Presidents of the United States of America, Ray LaMontagne, and Hall and Oates. I was almost not gonna go until I won tickets for day 2 of the festival. I was able to see bands like The Kills (kind of), Butthole Surfers, Atari Teenage Riot, NoMeansNo, and internet comedy act The Gregory Brothers.

The recently reunited alternative metal band System of a Down did a short west coast tour earlier this year, including Seattle’s own Key Arena. Not only that, but they chose gypsy punk collective Gogol Bordello to open for them, a band I happen to love. Both bands put on amazing shows, with SOAD playing a 29-song set. It was also my very first review. (Read with caution).

Unfortunately, there are people out there unaware of Echo Movement’s mind-warpingly fantastic music. Lead singer Stephen Fowler and his brother, keyboardist, Dave, are the greatest songwriting duo since Lennon-McCartney. They inspire nothing but good vibes, and they are some of the nicest dudes ever. So take their motto to heart, and “listen to Echo Movement.”

4. Zeds Dead (12/9):

Say what you will about dubstep, I love it. The overall energy and feel of it just makes me want to get up and dance way more than Ke$ha ever will. Skrillex has more talent in his ridiculous glasses than Ke$ha does in her whole body. Well anyway, Toronto-based dubstep duo Zeds Dead (named after the famous Pulp Fiction quote) rocked the house with their rockin’ house music (see what I did there?). After numerous songs mashed into one (nonstop!), they encored with The Pixies‘ Where is My Mind?, and Weezer’s Say It Ain’t So. Long story short, see a dubstep show.

After days of bugging my dad to get me tickets to this show, I had to settle with the upper seating area of Key Arena. It was ok, though. I had a great view of great bands such as Mumford and Sons, Death Cab for Cutie (blech), Cage the Elephant, Foster the People, Young the Giant, Two Door Cinema Club, and Grouplove. The show was almost overwhelming with its sheer beauty, and it may have been more of a Christmas show (I am Jewish), but it was still wonderful.

2. Sasquatch 2011 Day 1 05/27/11 – Gorge Amphitheater – George, WA

Unfortunately, I only had the opportunity to see one night of the world-famous Sasquatch Festival. Fortunately, though, I was able to see Foo Fighters, one of the biggest bands in the galaxy. I also got the chance to see newly reunited garage rock duo Death From Above 1979, and new punk lords Against Me! The drive to the Gorge that day may have been difficult, but dancing to “Everlong” with strangers totally made up for it (Click here to read our review of Sasquatch Day 1 from our pals thenaturalstoner and Phishbeard.

No doubt, this is the best show I’ve been to. Not only did I have the opportunity to see the newly reunited Gods of grunge metal, but I got to see them with alt-rock stoners Queens of the Stone Age, muscular man metal band Mastodon, and classic indie rockers Meat Puppets. PLUS: I got to see them at the beautiful and fantastic Gorge Amphitheater. Soundgarden played through their classics, and I left the Gorge feeling tired and sore. Twas an awesome show.

I hope you enjoyed my Top 10!

Here’s to another great year of concerts. *coughREDHOTCHILIPEPPERS*cough*TOOL*cough*NOELGALLAGHER*cough*BONNAROO*

Seattle radio station 107.7 The End are known for holding events with high-caliber musicians. Past events held by The End have included Foo Fighters, 311, Black Keys, Muse, Bad Religion, Presidents of the USA, and many more. So when they announced this year’s Deck the Hall Ball, I knew I would be in for a treat. After multiple failed attempts at winning tickets, my dad and I had to settle for upper seating at the huge Key Arena, where I saw System of a Down in May. The show featured an outstanding lineup, and most of the bands played amazingly, and not the ones you’d expect.

Grouplove:

Rising stars Grouplove are a British hippie explosion of drug-fueled happiness. Just the name lets you know that they are one of three things:

1) a support group for depressed people.

2) an orgy.

3) a peace-love-and-understanding type band that preaches peace, love, and understanding.

Grouplove only played five songs (including their hits “Tongue Tied” and “Colours”) to a mostly empty Key Arena, but they put on a wonderful show. They were energetic, loud, and happy. It’s always great to see up-and-comers put on awesome shows.

Two Door Cinema Club:

Irish pop-rockers Two Door Cinema Club were the next band to hit the stage. I wouldn’t call them my favorite performance of the night, but it was cool to hear them play their hits live. Sure, I really only know like two songs by them, but they are a cool band that played cool songs. I guess I can call them the Irish version of Franz Ferdinand; not really energetic in their delivery, but their tunes were neat. The group hinted that they have another album on the way, so hopefully they’ll see an increase in fans here in the U.S. and good luck to them.

Young the Giant:

I was never a huge fan of Young the Giant. I didn’t really like their debut album all that much, but their show pretty much makes up for it. The songs were all very emotional and exciting, and the crowd seemed to explode when Young the Giant finished their short set with their hit single “My Body.” Would I pay to see them live? Probably not. But I can say that once you put them in an arena setting, Young the Giant are awesome performers.

Foster the People:

At this point in the show, I planned on hanging out and eating dinner and not watching Foster the People. After seeing them play on Saturday Night Live in October, I was less than impressed with their lack of showmanship, and I came to the conclusion that Foster the People are way overrated. By that point in time I had become sick of “Pumped Up Kicks,” and Foster had failed to release a single that matched it. As Foster the People came on stage and started playing, my dad and I decided to eat dinner in the arena and watch them play. And let me say right now, I was impressed. Maybe all Foster the People need was an arena setting in order to put on a massive show. The band played their hits as I was watching them (“Don’t Stop Talking To Me,” “Call It What You Want,” “Helena Beat”) and they finally ended their set with an energetic performance of their Grammy-nominated hit “Pumped Up Kicks,” which featured an interlude of the DJ Remix version of the song playing, as Mark Foster danced like no one was watching. So, Foster the People are good live, is what I am trying to say. And I imagine that their sold out performance at the Showbox SoDo wasn’t nearly as good as their sold out performance at Key Arena. Bravo.

Cage the Elephant:

Having seen Cage the Elephant earlier this year at the Showbox SoDo, I kinda new what to expect. But, whether you’ve seen them or not, you must know that Cage the Elephant put on a massive, scary, hard rockin, sexy performance every single time they perform anywhere ever. Matt did his signature stage dives (ironically, there is a rule at Key Arena against stage diving), and stood on top of the crowd during the band’s performance of “Sabertooth Tiger,” which they ended with. As I observed, I noticed that Key Arena can no longer be called Key Arena. See, arenas generally have roofs, and Cage the Elephant blew the roof off that place. Cage definitely deserve to be playing big venues and it’s awesome to see them perform as well as they did in such a big place.

Death Cab for Cutie:

Let me start out by saying this: Death Cab? More like Bored to Death Cab, am I right? In all seriousness, Death Cab did to me what I thought Foster the People would. Ben Gibbard (perhaps because of his recent divorce?) was sporting a beard and a lumberjack flannel. Yeah, because when I think manly men, I think the singer of Death Cab for Cutie. Anyway, after sitting through a few songs (including “Doors Unlocked and Open,” “I Will Possess Your Heart,” and “You Are a Tourist”) I just couldn’t handle anymore. Death Cab were boring me to tears, and I had to get out of there. I hung out in the food court area and waited for what felt like four hours until Death Cab finished. And then I was ready to be blown away by Marcus Mumford and his sons.

Mumford & Sons:

As the gear was set up, I was anxiously awaiting the night’s headliner Mumford & Sons. At 10:00 PM, 15 minutes behind schedule, the lights went out and the stage was dark. The crowd cheered and the opening to “Lover’s Eyes” began. I wasn’t sure if Mumford was actually up there singing because I couldn’t see him, but the lights eventually went up to reveal the British folk band. The band jumped into their most recent hit “Roll Away Your Stone,” which, surprisingly, spawned some jumping and a great deal of energy in the crowd down below. Mumford and Sons interacted with the crowd, talked about their day hanging out in Seattle (could you imagine shopping in Pike Place then meeting MARCUS MUMFORD!!??), and played their hits the way they should be played: in a huge arena with lots of people singing. They played for a good hour or so, and then left the stage. I was a little saddened to see that they hadn’t played “The Cave” yet, so I waited to see if they would come back for an encore. And they most certainly did. They played (and delayed) “The Cave” with huge intensity and put on one of the biggest rock shows I’ve ever seen. And they aren’t even really a rock band. All in all, a pretty great show. I got see Marcus Mumford play the drums, Death Cab for Cutie suck the Life Cab for Cutie out of me (see what I did there?), and Matt Schultz stand on people’s hands and look out at thousands of people. God bless America.

After a wonderful breakfast with my parents, my crew and I were en route to the city for the final day of Outside Lands. A weird day in the sense that I only wanted to see three bands (of course two were at the same time), but the two I wanted to see were the biggest draws at the festival for me not named Phish. With hardly a cloud in the sky, we entered the gates and enjoyed every last minute of our day together in Golden Gate Park.

The Barbary

My wonderful hosts for the weekend (thank you again for everything James and Kelly) had a friend who was performing at some point in The Barbary. What is The Barbary you ask? Well The Barbary was a tent set up on the polo field that featured comedy, vaudeville and as one person was overheard saying “a shit ton of carny’s.” Some of the bigger names to grace the tent (who I was unable to catch) included Paul F. Tompkins and Gallagher. Here is a rundown on what I did witness.

Renegade Rockers – a four piece break dancing crew who can move their bodies in ways I can only dream of.

Bullwhip Tango – two gals with some serious snake dancing and sword balancing skills. Oh and then this dude with a bullwhip came out and destroyed a bunch of flowers held in various positions.

Ethan Law and his amazing Cyr Wheel.

I also was lucky enough to catch two quick songs from The Barbary house band Jazz Mafia. I have been told that Jazz Mafia has hundreds of members, but on this occasion they only had four. The four rocking the tent were not only insanely talented, but a lot of fun to watch.

Grouplove

With time to kill, I suggested we check out Los Angeles up-and-comers Grouplove. The good news is that there was a massive crowd surrounding the tiny Panhandle Stage (the smallest stage at Outside Lands, it runs 100% on solar power). The bad news is we were so far back; we were unable to hear them. So we did what most folks did; sat down drank a beer and enjoyed the company of each other.

!!!

Still enjoying the company of each other, I decided to run (and yes I ran and yes my shorts almost fell of and yes I almost took out a three year old which is why I stopped running) over to the Twin Peaks stage to see what !!! is all about. Yeah, much like STRFKR the day before, not my thing so I headed back to my crew for more lounging in the park.

John Fogerty

Little known fact – John Fogerty and I share a birthday. It is this reason and this reason alone that I went to check out his main stage set. OK, that’s a lie; I went to check out his main stage set so I could get closer to the bands that performed after him. Well that and the fact the man is a living legend.

As far as the set goes, Fogerty did a great job of rocking the ever-growing crowd. He did a fine job of walking the line between playing material from his solo career and hits from CCR. Some of the bigger hits that I recognized included “Lodi” “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” “Fortunate Son” and “Down On The Corner.” Chances are I would have never gone out and see Fogerty on his own, but at the ripe age of 56 I have to say the man can still rock.

The Decemberists

Back in 2007 I saw The Decemberists perform at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. While I wanted to see the band perform again, I just had this fear that nothing could top that magical night under the stars. With The Hazards Of Love in heavy rotation these days I was finally ready for round two with the Portland Oregon based band.

The group got the massive main stage crowd up on their feet as soon as the opening notes of “July, July!” For the next 70 minutes the band made the crowd laugh, fight, scream and check their dictionary.com smart phone in order to decipher the lyrics of front man Colin Meloy. As a matter of fact, Meloy was in fine form on this Sunday afternoon. When not begging the Michele Bachmann 2012 Presidential Campaign to use the groups “Calamity Song” out on the campaign trail, Meloy was encouraging fans to camel fight during “The Soldiering Life.”

I felt the highlight of the set was “Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)” which featured former Nickel Creek member Sara Watkins on lead vocal. Watkins (who is currently filling in for keyboardist Jenny Conlee while she kicks the crap out of breast cancer) somehow managed to make her vocals sound better live than the original vocals on the Hazards record.

After great takes of “We Both Go Down Together” “O Valencia!” and “This Is Why We Fight” the group closed with “The Mariner’s Revenge Song.” Part performance art, part rock opera and some serious crowd participation made this the perfect closer for the quirky yet loveable Northwestern rockers. While a 70 minute festival set can no way compare to a night at the Bowl with the LA Phil, The Decemberists not only outshined Arcade Fire, but were the best set I caught at Outside Lands by a band not named Phish.

Arcade Fire

It was basically a year ago when The Suburbs dropped into my lap after a trip home to San Francisco. There is always a depression that comes over me in the days after I visit my home town and return to Los Angeles. Not really an Arcade Fire fan, The Suburbs not only helped ease the pain that comes from giving up The City for a life in Los Angeles, but made me realize that perhaps there was something truly special about Arcade Fire. If my extended trip home had to come to an end, I felt good knowing that it would end with another round with the life changing musicians who call Montreal home.

Taking the stage a few minutes before their announced 8:10 pm start time Arcade Fire got the crowd going with “Ready To Start.” The early part of the set was filled with songs from The Suburbs including “Empty Room” and “Rocco.” Much like Colin Meloy of The Decemberists; Arcade Fire front man Win Butler was very chatty. When not sharing his love of San Francisco while making sure to get some jokes in about the high cost of living, he was encouraging folks to donate to relief efforts in Haiti before playing the song that shares a name with the struggling nation.

As the 90 minute set progressed the band rewarded the young rabid fan base who had waited up front all day for their heroes with their biggest numbers. While it may have been lost upon the Grammy audience, “Month of May” is the perfect Polo Field rocker while “Rebellion (Lies)” actually caused the crowd to pogo up and down like one would see at a European festival. The biggest highlight of the set was the closing song “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out).” Some kids crowd surfed, others freaked out as group rocked the masses hard while swallowed by bright red lights.

With a few minutes remaining before the strict 9:45 pm curfew, the grateful band returned with 1-2 punch of “Wake Up” and “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains).” While the day job may have ruined “Wake Up” I was thrilled that the entire weekend would end with the powerful “Sprawl II.” From the pulsating drums to the hypnotic vocals of Regine Chassagne this song is why Arcade Fire is one of the most powerful bands of their generation.

So with that my first trip to Outside Lands was complete. Sure there were a few hiccups, but overall a truly magical event that I am thankful I was finally able to be part of. Hope to be back in 2012.